How To Find And Land Opportunities That Most Experts Never Even Knew Were Available
Patrick McFadden • July 23, 2013
The same way that studies show that 80% of available jobs are “hidden.” I think that 80% of the opportunities to get you or your business in front of decision makers are “hidden.” That’s right, my argument is that up to 80 percent of the available opportunities are hidden, although absolute documentation is hard to come by.
In this post I will share with you three of my best kept secrets on how to find and land opportunities that most experts never even knew were available .
- Go beyond the website.
I have been searching intensely, the past three days for Country Clubs where I can register as a dining club member. My goal is to network and surround myself with CEOs, executives, professionals and entrepreneurs (the people I want to do business with). During this process I started going beyond their website and looking at their newsletters. What I discovered was a massive opportunity. See below:
That’s right! I found an opportunity to share what I know and present to this group of individuals, for free.
- Join, listen, and ask.
It’s been said, “You never make the sale you don’t ask for.” Recently I joined a LinkedIn interest group called “Greater Richmond Small Business Development Center” which is a partnership program between the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Greater Richmond Chamber. After I joined I started listening to see what was going on and I quickly noticed that classes were being offered to business owners. What did I do? I took initiative and asked for the opportunity. See below:
Wait!!!
Did I just get a “two for the price of one.” Yep, I already have been featured in this newsletter
(see left column in link) that reaches over 10,000 small businesses and entrepreneurs in my local area. And soon I will be teaching some classes. - Leave thought-provoking comments. I can’t tell you have many radio interviews and guest blogging opportunities have come just from me leaving a great comment. Here’s an example of how I got one of my radio interviews:
Hi Mr. McFadden, I noticed that you commented one of the articles on my firm’s blog (—-), so I checked out your blog to see what you were all about. I’m so glad I did!
Would you be interested in interviewing on my radio show one Monday? It’s called “The Learning Curve Radio Show”, and it’s a show that celebrates entrepreneurship, but also is transparent about some of the mistakes made along the way to “success”. I think you would be an awesome guest as you have very valuable nuggets to share in your blog.
Feel free to give me a call or reply to this email, and we’ll schedule some time to talk.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Here’s an email for guest blogging:
Hi Patrick,
I saw the comment that you left on one of our NYC Department of Small Business Services blog post.
If you are interested in guest blogging, please let me know.
Suzy
The majority of these opportunities are not advertised. Successful consultants, coaches, business experts, bloggers and speakers can tap into this “hidden opportunity market” using such search strategies as above.
Question: Do you have a strategy for finding those hidden opportunities?
Everyone is scaling outputs. Almost no one is scaling judgment.
Ask anyone in tech where AI is headed, and they’ll tell you: “The next leap is reasoning.” “AI needs judgment.” “We need assistants that think, not just answer.” They’re right. But while everyone’s talking about it, almost no one is actually shipping it. So we did. We built Thinking OS™ —a system that doesn’t just help AI answer questions… It helps AI think like a strategist. It helps AI decide like an operator. It helps teams and platforms scale judgment, n ot just generate output. The Theory Isn’t New. The Implementation Is. The idea of layering strategic thinking and judgment into AI isn’t new in theory. The problem is, no one’s been able to implement it effectively at scale. Let’s look at the current landscape. 1. Big Tech Has the Muscle—But Not the Mind OpenAI / ChatGPT ✅ Strength: Best-in-class language generation ❌ Limitation: No built-in judgment or reasoning. You must provide the structure. Otherwise, it follows instructions, not strategy. Google DeepMind / Gemini ✅ Known for advanced decision-making (e.g., AlphaGo) ❌ But only in structured environments like games—not messy, real-world business scenarios. Anthropic (Claude), Meta (LLaMA), Microsoft Copilot ✅ Great at answering questions and following commands ❌ But they’re assistants, not advisors. They won’t reprioritize. They won’t challenge your assumptions. They don’t ask: “Is this the right move?” These tools are powerful—but they don’t think for outcomes the way a strategist or operator would. 2. Who’s Actually Building the Thinking Layer™? This is where it gets interesting—and thin. Startups and Indie Builders Some small teams are quietly: Creating custom GPTs that mimic how experts reason Layering in business context, priorities, and tradeoffs Embedding decision logic so AI can guide, not just execute But these efforts are: Highly manual Difficult to scale Fragmented and experimental Enterprise Experiments A few companies (Salesforce, HubSpot, and others) are exploring more “judgment-aware” AI copilots. These systems can: Flag inconsistencies Recommend next actions Occasionally surface priorities based on internal logic But most of it is still: In early R&D Custom-coded Unproven beyond narrow use cases That’s Why Thinking OS™ Is Different Instead of waiting for a lab to crack it, we built a modular thinking system that installs like infrastructure. Thinking OS™: Captures how real experts reason Embeds judgment into layers AI can use Deploys into tools like ChatGPT or enterprise systems Helps teams think together, consistently, at scale It’s not another assistant. It’s the missing layer that turns outputs into outcomes. So… Is This a New Innovation? Yes—in practice. Everyone says AI needs judgment. But judgment isn’t an idea. It’s a system. It requires: Persistent memory Contextual awareness Tradeoff evaluation Value-based decisions Strategy that evolves with goals Thinking OS™ delivers that. And unlike the R&D experiments in Big Tech, it’s built for: Operators Consultants Platform founders Growth-stage teams that need to scale decision quality, not just content creation If Someone Told You They’ve Built a Thinking + Judgment Layer™… They’ve built something only a handful of people in the world are even attempting. Because this isn’t just AI that speaks fluently. It’s AI that reasons, reflects , and chooses. And in a world that’s drowning in tools, judgment becomes the differentiator. That’s the OS We Built Thinking OS™ is not a prompt pack. It’s not a dashboard. It’s not a glorified chatbot. It’s a decision architecture you can license, embed, or deploy— To help your team, your platform, or your clients think better at scale. We’ve moved past content. We’re building cognition. Let’s talk.
In every era of innovation, there’s a silent bottleneck—something obvious in hindsight, but elusive until the moment it clicks. In today’s AI-driven world, that bottleneck is clear: AI has speed. It has scale. But it doesn’t have judgment . It doesn’t really think . What’s Actually Missing From AI? When experts talk about the “thinking and judgment layer” as the next leap for AI, they’re calling out a hard truth: Modern AI systems are powerful pattern machines. But they’re missing the human layer—the one that reasons, weighs tradeoffs, and makes strategic decisions in context. Let’s break that down: 1. The Thinking Layer = Reasoning with Purpose This layer doesn’t just process inputs— it structures logic. It’s the ability to: Ask the right questions before acting Break down complexity into solvable parts Adjust direction mid-course when reality changes Think beyond “what was asked” to uncover “what really matters” Today’s AI responds. But it rarely reflects. Unless told exactly what to do, it won’t work through problems the way a strategist or operator would. 2. The Judgment Layer = Decision-Making in the Gray Judgment is the ability to: Prioritize what matters most Choose between imperfect options Make decisions when there’s no clear answer Apply values, experience, and vision—not just data It’s why a founder might not pursue a lucrative deal. Why a marketer might ignore the click-through rate. Why a strategist knows when the timing isn’t right. AI doesn’t do this well. Not yet. Because judgment requires more than data—it requires discernment . Why This Is the Bottleneck Holding Back AI AI can write. It can summarize. It can automate. But it still can’t: Diagnose the real problem behind the question Evaluate tradeoffs like a founder or operator would Recommend a path based on context, constraints, and conviction AI today is still reactive. It follows instructions. But it doesn’t lead. It doesn’t guide. It doesn’t own the outcome. And for those building serious systems—whether you’re running a company, launching a platform, or leading a team—this is the wall you eventually hit. That’s Why We Built Thinking OS™ We stopped waiting for AI to learn judgment on its own. Instead, we created a system that embeds it—by design. Thinking OS™ is an installable decision layer that captures how top founders, strategists, and operators think… …and makes that thinking repeatable , scalable , and usable inside teams, tools, and platforms. It’s not a framework. It’s not a chatbot. It’s not another playbook. It’s the layer that knows how to: Think through complex decisions Apply judgment when rules don’t help Guide others —human or AI—toward strategic outcomes This Is the Missing Infrastructure Thinking OS™ isn’t just about better answers. It’s about better thinking—made operational. And that’s what’s been missing in AI, consulting, leadership development, and platform design. If you’re trying to scale expertise, install judgment, or move from tactical to strategic… You don’t need a faster AI. You need a thinking layer that knows what to do—and why. We built it. Let’s talk.
